FREEDOM’S JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR … RESPONSIBILITY?

Seventh Day of Pesach

21 Nisan 5779 / 25-26 April 2019
Torah: Exodus 13:17 - 15:26
Maftir: Numbers 28:19-25

Haftarah: 2 Samuel 22:1-51

Additional reading: Shir Hashirim - The Song of Songs (some congregations read this on Pesach Day 8)

Eighth Day of Pesach

22 Nisan 5779 / 26-27 April 2019
Torah: Deuteronomy 14:22 - 16:17
Maftir: Numbers 28:19-25
Haftarah: Isaiah 10:32 - 12:6

Calendar and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events and other info about our community, check out:

http://www.bnaihayim.com/

Please feel free to pass this on this to a friend, and please cite the source.

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 FREEDOM’S JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR … RESPONSIBILITY?

"And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had sent the people away that God did not lead them through the way of the Philistines, though that was near, for God said, 'Lest the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.'" Exodus 13:17

The Torah reading for the 7th day of Pesach includes the famous Song of the Sea. This song is the Israelite victory song, a paean to God after the destruction of the Egyptian army at the Reed Sea. But the victory and song follow just a few verses after the Israelites complained to Moses about their fears, and their desire to return to Egypt. In its first fragile moments, while the oppressors were still around, freedom was a scary proposition! Who will feed us? How will we survive? Who is this Moses? Where are we going? What are the Egyptians going to do to us? Let's go back to the security of slavery! We miss it! And the kvetching begins again shortly after the Reed Sea events. All the while, Moses must have been thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?"

Rabbi Barukh Abba Rakowsky suggests that the Israelites had dreamed only of being free of their hard labor, but had not dreamed of total liberation from slavery. Absent such a dream, God feared that the first time they faced difficulty they would want to return to Egypt and to slavery. That is why He sent them "the long way". Maybe that is why the Israelites spent 40 years in the desert.

One thing that is abundantly clear throughout the Torah and rabbinic texts is that we each have responsibility - to God, to ourselves, to each other, to the world. Freedom, whether from slavery, or from political oppression, or from chemical addiction, or from anything that prevents us from living up to our potential, often frightens us, because then we are responsible for at least trying to live up to that potential.

That is the difficulty to which Rabbi Rakowsky refers. Slaves have no choice but to do what they are told - so they are not responsible for their actions. Similarly, according to Jewish law, slaves are exempt from many of the mitzvot - but free people are obligated for observing all of them. This means that we are not truly free until we accept responsibility for ourselves and take up the challenges of life.

Mo'adim L'Simchah! Chag Sameach! Shabbat Shalom! 

Seasons of Joy and a Shabbat of Peace!

Rabbi Richard A. Flom

Temple B'nai Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier

Blogging at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com/

Visit me on Facebook

"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"

"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”

BT Yevamot 88a

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CANDLE LIGHTING TIMES:

Thursday, April 25 - 7:15 pm

Friday, April 26 – 7:16 pm

Pesach ends - 8:17 pm on Saurday, April 27.

CALENDAR

Friday – Pesach Day 7 Service - 9:30 am. Light Kiddush lunch follows. Shabbat/Chag Evening Service – 7:30 pm.

Saturday – NO Torah Study/Breakfast – resume May 4. Shabbat Morning/Pesach Day 8 Service, including Yizkor – 9:30 am. Light Kiddush lunch follows.

Sunday – Religious School – 9:30 am.

Tuesday – Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.

Sunday, May 19 – TBH/CBM Concert and Fundraiser – with music, comedy, silent auction, and food and drink. For details, check our website or contact the synagogue office: http://bnaihayim.com 

Sunday, June 2 - Afternoon at the Colony Theater – “Old Jews Telling Jokes” – a bawdy (not suitable for minors) visit to the Catskills with Jokes, Skits, Song & Dance! Discounted group rate tickets are available until April 25.

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This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Mark Brownstein, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Bernard Garvin, Leah Granat, Carol Herskowitz, Diana Hirsch, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein, Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Imanu), Marilyn Lee, David Marks, Sandra Raab, Marguerite Rassiner, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Bernie Seeman, Hadassah Simani (Hadassah bat Sarah Imanu), William Sragow, and Jonathan Woolf.

Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.

Next time you come to TBH/CBM, please bring some non-perishable canned and packaged foods and personal items (no glass) for SOVA.

TBH Religious School and TBH Preschool have open enrollment. Enroll your children now! Contact the TBH office for information.

And be sure to tell your neighbors, friends, and relatives about our warm and welcoming community and our programs!

We are looking for volunteers for services: chant Torah or Haftarah, daven, lead English readings, deliver d’rashot, and have aliyot and other Torah/bimah honors. Training available! Contact Rabbi Flom by e-mail for details and to sign up!

My weekly divrei torah are available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail list. No salesman will call! Cyber Torah list management:

To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah”.

To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah”.

To dedicate a Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah, send an e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Dedicate Cyber Torah” and provide details in the message body.